NPR at ATA – it’s been on your FM dial, over the Internet, but also on the pavement for some street theatre and sidewalk seating. This past Saturday we had plenty of people parking their behinds on the chairs outside the shop front throughout the day.

NPR draws a sidewalk crowd

Some were neighbors who said they had seen the action for the past couple of months and were stopping by. Others were in the middle of their shopping trips. And others were captured, for a moment, by the sounds and sights they caught as they walked by the shop window.

The audio archives don’t really record the way that people on both sides of the street, on their bikes and in their cars, stop, stare, and interact with the shows and their hosts. For instance, the first such person was a local lady called Kina (not sure of the spelling) who sat and enjoyed Cesar’s time on the decks.

Cesar and his friend master the decks

Whizz then filled in for half an hour with some street prowling, inviting whomever she could to come into the studio and have a chat. The topics covered ranged from Spongebob to psychology, all at the prompting of passers-by.

“I’m interested in psychology”

We moved from that to video installations and gallery curation, courtesy of Zefrey’s Frank Prattle, Renny Pritikin from The Nelson Gallery and artist Mads Lynnerup, who had a few beers with him to oil the cogs of conversation.

Beer helps the juices flow

Our next guest proved to be quite a draw. Her name is Uni and she had her Ukelele with her. Her sweet-sounding voice and gentle songs made a tranquil moment in the proceedings.

Uni through the window

Uni’s Ukelele is made for her

We went from that to the death and destruction that is Israel, Lebanon and the madness of King George the Bush, courtesy of Bentropy and his trusty computer: a timely reminder that while all is fun and dandy on San Francisco’s Valencia Street, on other streets in other, war-filled, parts of the world, lives like ours are being extinguished left, right and center.

Bentropy on the mic

They have to stop by at least once throughout the day and it was from 3.15 to 4pm that the technical difficulties visited the station.

And who the hell was this? Invader in the booth, invader in the booth!!!!”

This was just in time to hinder the fun usually had during Katina’s Karaoke half-hour. First it was the remote microphone and then it was a crashed laptop. She got a chance to do just one or two numbers properly before her time was up.

Katina and friends sing with no music

“An Australian, an Irishman and a Scotsman walk into a bar..” Well, not quite, but Jeremy, Malarky and Daniel did turn up outside the ATA at 4pm for some accent talk with Whizz. The audience had to guess who had which accent before talk of American perceptions of foreign English accents.

The Oz, the Scot and the Irishman (from left to right)

“I know the answer!”, says Katina’s friend

From all that effing and blinding and audience participation, NPR went back behind the glass, where Courtney Fink talked to Bruce Tomb about Valencia’s Freedom Wall, which is near 24th Street and is covered in pictures, posters and photos.

Bruce and Courtney

We stayed on the art tip for the next show where Frank Prattle embraced Bryan Kaplan from the Independent School of Art, whose students have been interpreting television classics on NPR while it’s been at ATA.

Bryan loves his Friends

From that we on to making sewage defy gravity. Yes, it was the Knucklescraper half-hour with Erik Nelson, NPR’s very own plumber extraordinaire, who admitted he can’t enter a bathroom without sizing up the plumbing.

Our resident plumber, Mr “Knucklescraper” Nelson

From the straight lines and logical curves of piping, we went to the musical tangles of DJ Milton Parker who weaved Japanese hip hop with noise and anything else you’d care to mention for the final Milton Parker hour of NPR at ATA this, the summer of 2006.

“It’s all over now” - Whizz, DJ Milton Parker, Zefrey

The audio:

Cesar Ascarrunz

Whizz street prowling

Frank Prattle with Zefrey:
Featuring Renny Pritikin (Nelson Gallery) and Mads Lynnerup (Artist)


Uni and Her Ukelele

Bentropy

Katina sidewalk Karaoke

Educating Americans on Accents

Courtney Fink interviews Bruce Tomb (of Valencia’s Freedom Wall)

Frank Prattle with Zefrey:
Featuring Bryan Kaplan from Independent School of Art

Erik “The Knucklescraper” Nelson: Plumbing tips from the Pros

DJ Milton Parker

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